H A K 
HAL 
the fame day of the month. Thefe flioals fome- 
times extend three miles in breadth; and, in length, 
from Flamborough Head to Tinmouth Caftle, 
and perhaps inuch farther northward. 
The following flift may convey fome idea of 
their numbers : Threefifhermen, within thediftance 
of a mile from Scarborough harbour, frequently 
loaded their boat v/ith them thrice a day, taking a 
tun of fifh each time ; but, when they (link their 
lines beyond the dillance of three miles from the 
fhore, they caught nothing but dog-fifli, which 
purfuing the Haddocks as their prey, confine the 
fhoal, like a barrier, within it's proper limits. 
The large Haddocks quit the Yorkfhire coaft 
as foon as tliey become out of feafon, leaving be- 
hind them prodigious numbers of fmall ones. On 
the approach of fummer they retire to the fhores 
of Jutland and Hamburgh, from whence they 
make their annual migrations to our coafts. 
HiEMATOPUS. A bird called by fome au- 
thors the pica marina, or fea-pye. In the Lin- 
nffian arrangement, this forms a diftinft genus of 
birds of the order of grall^e; the diftinguifliing 
characfters of which are thefe : the feet are formed 
for running; the toes are three in number on each 
foot; and the apex of the bill is comprefTed and 
cuneiform. 
H^MATOPUS ARDEA; the Red-legged 
Heron. A very beautiful Italian bird, called by 
the. ancients cirris. It is one of the fmallefl fpe- 
cies of the heron kind, and of a yellow chefnut 
colour. 
H^MORRHUS. See Blood-Snake. 
HAFFHERT. A bird defcribed by Holer, 
ufually feen at fea, and fuppofed to be the fore- 
runner of a ftorm. It is lliaped like the falcon, 
and grows to the fize of the common hen. The 
beak, which is ftrong and hooked, entirely refem- 
bles that of the falcon, except that it is f!:orter. 
Fifhermen and mariners dread the appearance of 
this bird; and, on difcovering it, always make to- 
wards the fnore with the utmoft expedition. 
HAG, MYXINE. A genus of worms; the 
charaifters of which are thefe: the body is flender 
and carinated beneath; the mouth is cirrated at 
the extremity; the two jaws are pinnated; and a 
raylefs fin furrounds the tail and belly. 
Tliefe worms, which inhabit the ocean, perfo- 
rate dead bodies, that they may with more facility 
fall to pieces. They Ibmetimes enter the mouths 
of fiflies on the hooks, when lulfered to remain 
long before they are drawn, and totally devour the 
whole, except the friin and bones; and they are 
alfo frequently found by fifhermen in excavated 
fifhes. Linnreus afcribes to them the property of 
turning water into glue. 
A- fpecies of this genus, about eight inches in 
length, is commonly caught near Scarborough ; 
and has been diftinguifhed by the name of the 
Glutinous Hag. 
HAII. A Brazilian appellation for the animal 
generally called the floth. This word feems to be 
pronounced by the creature itfelf, as it's common 
note; and from this circumftance it is faid to have 
derived it's name. 
HAKE; the Gadus Merlucius of Linnjeus. 
This fifli is found from one foot and a half to near 
twice that length. It's make is (lender; it's back 
is of a pale afh-colour; and it's belly is a dirty 
white: it's head is flat and broad; it's mouth is 
extremely wide; and it's teeth are very long and 
fharp, particularly thofe of the lower-jaw. The 
firfl dorfal fin is fmall, confiftingof nine rays ; and' 
the fecond, v/hich reaches from the bafe of the 
form.er almoft to the tail, is compofed of forty- 
rays: the perioral fins contain twelve rays, the 
ventral feven, and the anal thirty-nine. 
The Hake is generally efteemed a very coarfe 
fifli ; and, in modern times, has feldom been ad- 
mitted to the table, either frelh or faked; in which 
laft ftate it is known by the name of Poor John. 
Thefe fifh are caught in great abundance on va- 
rious parts of the Britifli and Irifh coafls. Form- 
erly there v/as a ftationary nfhery of Hake on the 
Nymph Bank, off the coaft of Waterford; the firfl 
fhoal arriving in June, during the mackarel fea- 
fon ; the other \n September, at the commence- 
ment of the herring one. In this place it M^as not 
unuiual for fix men to catch a thoufand Hake in 
one night, exclufive of oilier fifhes ; thefe v^ere 
faked, and exported to Spain, particularly to Bil- 
boa: but Smith, in his Hiflory of the County of 
Waterford, publifhed in 1746, laments that this 
fifhery was on the decline from the defedtion of the 
flioals. Indeed, many of the gregarious kinds of 
fiflies are apt to change their fituations, and deferc 
their haunts, for a courle of years ; after which t]-jey 
return again. This irregularity may originate 
from feveral reafons; but the m.ofl powerful feem 
to be a deficiency of the fmaller fifh, which ferved 
them as food; and the numbers of predaceous ani- 
mals which conftantly harraflcd them in their mi- 
grations. 
Hake, Forked; the Blennius Phycis of Lin- 
nffius. This fpecies is generally about a foot 
long, and three inches deep; but, according to Dr. 
Borlafe, feme are caught upwards of eighteen in- 
ches in length. The head, as is comm.on to the 
other fpecies of this genus, flopes down to the 
nofe; the mouth is large; and, exclufive of the 
teetlV in the jaws, a triangular congeries of fmall 
teeth appears in the roof of the mouth. The firfl 
dorfal fin is triangular; the fecond fin rifes exadly 
behind the firfl, and extends alirioft to die tail; the 
ventral fins, which are long, confift only of two 
rays, united at the bottom, and feparated or bifur- 
cated towards the end; the vent is placed in the 
miiddle of the body, the anal one extending from 
thence to the tail; the lateral line is incurvated; 
the tail is rounded ; and the colour is a cinereous 
brown. 
This fifh, which is fometimes caught on the 
coafts of this ifland, but more commonly in the 
Mediterranean, is known in Cornwall by the name 
of the great-forked beard. Linnaeus refers it to 
his genus of blenni; but Pennant feems to confi- 
der this as an improper diflribution, and arrang-e* 
it Vv'ith the gadi. 
Hake, Lesser. Mr. Jago firfl defcribed this 
rare fpecies, which few of our modern ichthyolo- 
gifts have had an opportunity of examining. It 
is faid to be about five inches long: it has a fmali 
beard, a rounded tail, and bifurcated ventral fins; 
the colour is black, the fkin fmooth, and it's ap- 
pearance rude and difagreeable. 
HALCYON. See King's Fisher. 
HALECULA. An appellation given hj 
fome ichthyologifls to the anchovy. The Vv'ord 
is a diminutive of Halec, the clafTical name for the 
herring. 
HALIiETUS. A name given by fome na- 
turalifls to the Aquila marina, Nifus, OfTifraga, or 
Ofprey; the Falco Ofnfragus of Linnaeus. T.his 
bird is very large, often weighing eleven pounds: 
the. 
